Tenant work on property

[Mark Forest]

What is the opinion on having your tenant do work on property in exchange for a break in rent. I am thinking this is not a good idea. I would rather hire outside help even though my tenant is suposed to be skilled.

[Tom NA]

I would advise against this Steve. I think this was discussed awhile back and many issues such as insurance, employment, fair pricing, etc. can come into play. I'm sure some others can present some more concrete reasons why not but this is definitely a precedent you want to be careful about.

Where I do have advice is if you currently have a tenant asking about this. I had a tenant ask for this type of exchange (contracting type services for rent) which I refused to allow. In the end, it was a tell-tale sign that he had financial trouble and I had to evict him within 2 months of that initial request. So, be aware if someone is asking because evicition and a judgment you can't collect on may be next if your experience follows mine...